132458 20260217205507.0 doi 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114493 sideral 137565 ART-2024-137565 eng Belanche, Daniel Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-2291-1409 Human versus virtual influences, a comparative study 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Influencer marketing aims to promote brands and influence consumer decisions, and recent technological advances have created options for non-human, virtual influencers. Such developments suggest the need to determine whether the effects of virtual influencers on consumer decisions differ from those of human influencers, depending on the type of product they are promoting. With a 2 (virtual vs. human influencer) × 2 (utilitarian vs. hedonic product) experimental design, using Instagram influencer posts and data from 275 participants, the current research establishes that the type of influencer does not affect intentions to adopt recommendations. But the influence process varies by type of influencer: Virtual influencers’ recommendations appear more useful, especially for utilitarian products, but consumers identify more with human influencers’ posts. Both usefulness and identification increase intention to adopt influencers’ recommendation. Overall, these results suggest that, while virtual influencers should endorse utilitarian products, human influencers should be hired to endorse hedonic products. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA-FSE/LMP51-21 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S20-23R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/PID2019-105468RB-I00 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc-nd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es 9.8 2024 BUSINESS 14 / 316 = 0.044 2024 Q1 T1 3.499 2024 Marketing 2024 Q1 25.3 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Casaló, Luis V. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-9643-2814 Flavián, Marta Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-1232-9706 4011 095 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Direc.Mark.Inves.Mercad. Área Comerci.Investig.Mercados 173 (2024), 114493 [13 pp.] J. bus. res. Journal of Business Research 0148-2963 1332216 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/132458/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2587105 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/132458/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:132458 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:23:52 ARTICLE